Bitcoin Has Company on Cryptocurrency Stage

In recent weeks, the hype and interest around the Bitcoin virtual currency have risen to new heights as the value of a Bitcoin has now surpassed $1,000 US. Bitcoin, a virtual currency that was first introduced in 2009, is also known as a cryptocurrency. The term "cryptocurrency" refers to the fact that the currency is created, or "mined," from cryptographic hashes. A cryptocurrency also leverages the same cryptography that creates virtual coins, to validate transactions and prevent fraud. The increased attention on Bitcoin has made it increasingly difficult to mine and create new Bitcoins. That's because the cryptography behind Bitcoin only allows for 21 million Bitcoin (BTC) in total, with the incremental difficulty to create new coins increasing at a rapid rate. While Bitcoin is the most well-known and highest value cryptocurrency in the world today, it isn't the only cryptocurrency being mined and used. Other cryptocurrencies--including Litecoin, Peercoin and Megacoin, among others--are not nearly as valuable as Bitcoin and are not as difficult to mine either. There is also a growing secondary market where alternative cryptocurrencies are traded for Bitcoins and, in some cases, against the U.S. dollar and euro. In this slide show, eWEEK takes a look at some of the more common cryptocurrencies in the market today.

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Bitcoin Has Company on Cryptocurrency Stage

By Sean Michael Kerner

Litecoin Is Second Most Valuable Cryptocurrency

While the value of all Bitcoins currently in existence hovers above $12 billion US, Litecoin's current value hovers around $700 million. Litecoin developers claim that faster transaction confirmations can be achieved with a Litecoin than with a Bitcoin.

Peercoin Makes Mining More Energy Efficient

Peercoin (PPC), which was created in August 2012, is built on top of the same concepts as Bitcoin. A key distinguishing feature of PPC is the claim that mining is more energy efficient, since PPC creation requires a less hardware- and compute-intensive computation.

Namecoin Aims to Build a New Domain Name System

Namecoin (NMC) was created in April of 2011 and has a hard limit of 21 million NMC that can be created. In addition to being a currency, NMC is being developed as the basis for a Domain Name System (DNS) known as dot-bit.

Quark Coin Emphasizes Security

Quark Coin (QRK) is among the most recent cryptocurrencies, first publicly announced on July 21, 2013. QRK offers the promise of super-secure hashing, leveraging six different hashing functions.

Megacoin Is Limited to 42 Million Coins

Megacoin (MEC) is another recent addition to the cryptocurrency landscape, first debuting in 2013. There is a global limit of 42 million MEC that can ever exist. The number 42 is a nod to the fictional Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which identifies 42 as the "Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything."

Feathercoin Has an Active Marketplace for Goods

Feathercoin (FTC) has a limit of 336 million coins, of which only 25 million have been mined (as of Dec. 2, 2013). In an effort to bolster liquidity and value, the Feathercoin community hosts a market that lets users buy and sell goods with FTC.

WorldCoin

WorldCoin (WDC) was officially launched on May 14, 2013, and offers the promise of transaction confirmations of 60 seconds or less.

Primecoin Mines Prime Number Chains

Primecoin (XPM) miners perform a search for a special type of prime number chain. According to XPM developers, "The innovative prime proof-of-work in Primecoin not only provides security and minting to the network, but also generates a special form of prime number chains of interest to mathematical research."

Freicoin Adds a Holding Fee for Cryptocurrency

Freicoin (FRC) introduces the concept known as Dumurrage to cryptocurrency, which is a holding fee of 5 percent that FRC owners pay.

Anoncoin Emphasizes Anonymity

Anoncoin (ANC) has the goal of being a more anonymous form of cryptocurrency and can be used on the i2p (Invisible Internet Project).